I thought about what you said. I was going to do bw pull ups as an assistance, but like the idea of using pull ups as a main exercise by adding weight. That would give me two pushing and two pulling movements. Work out 4 days a week.
Monday BP
Tuesday Bent row
Friday MP
Saturday weighted chins. BW squats and some ab work with every workout. Assorted assistance to round it out. I like it. [/quote]
if there’s no way you could possibly do leg work, then i guess that’s fine FOR YOU, but i would caution you to make sure that your nephew that you workout with is not following your above template, as it wont be long before he is known as “lightbulb man” or “chicken legs” or “the ghey legs” etc.
[quote]ros1816 wrote:
I’m gonna switch to Savickas Press as main exercise instead of standing ohp - good idea?[/quote]
No, Wendler says not to change the main exercises unless you cannot perform them due to injury.
[quote]Adam-F wrote:
Fellas, I have been reading the 5/3/1 book and these boards - I have come up with the following routine, although im not 100% on the assistance work or balance of it all, so comments very much wanted!
Perhaps you could indicate what you are going for and why you chose these lifts. Without knowing what you are going for or if there are particular weaknesses you are trying to address it can be hard assess. Personally, I would not worry about an exercise for calves. I’m not sure what others would suggest putting in to superset with deadlift, but I would either do abs or (what I actually do) just do flexibility/mobility stuff between sets of deads. In place of the leg press you may want to substitute something like lunges, but this is just kinda wild speculation on my part and there are far stronger and more experienced people who will hopefully provide you better feedback.
Has anyone started by adding 10 pounds to a lift at the end of a cycle and then switched to adding only 5 pounds as the cycles progressed and gains got slower?
[quote]burt128 wrote:
Has anyone started by adding 10 pounds to a lift at the end of a cycle and then switched to adding only 5 pounds as the cycles progressed and gains got slower?[/quote]
This makes perfect sense, although I don’t know of anyone personally who has done. Once it starts getting difficult to get the minimum reps, this is probably what I will do myself. Remember Wendler says to advance by no more than 10 lbs. per cycle on the SQ and DL, but you certainly do less than this as well. Your BP and OHP should only be advancing by 5 lbs. per cycle anyway.
Perhaps you could indicate what you are going for and why you chose these lifts. Without knowing what you are going for or if there are particular weaknesses you are trying to address it can be hard assess. Personally, I would not worry about an exercise for calves. I’m not sure what others would suggest putting in to superset with deadlift, but I would either do abs or (what I actually do) just do flexibility/mobility stuff between sets of deads. In place of the leg press you may want to substitute something like lunges, but this is just kinda wild speculation on my part and there are far stronger and more experienced people who will hopefully provide you better feedback.[/quote]
Thanks revchad, I had a think about a few of the pairings and came up with this revised list ^^
My thinking is that I need to improve on my pressing strength and upper back/ lats - hence the chins, kroc rows and separate pressing…otherwise I was trying for an upper/lower split.
I put the leg presses in because there isn’t any room for walking lunges, although I guess I could do static lunges?
One thing I’ve noticed with 5/3/1 is that it requires a lot of trial and error (at least with me). Due to elbow problems, equipment difficulties and psychological barriers, I’ve had to switch my main lifts at least once. But now I think I’ve found all four exercises that I will milk until I reach my goal in strength levels.
[quote]forbes wrote:
One thing I’ve noticed with 5/3/1 is that it requires a lot of trial and error (at least with me). Due to elbow problems, equipment difficulties and psychological barriers, I’ve had to switch my main lifts at least once. But now I think I’ve found all four exercises that I will milk until I reach my goal in strength levels.
Anyone else do this too?[/quote]
a lot of folks substitute steep-incline press for militaries because of shoulder problems. I decided my triceps were weak, I do BBB, so instead of military for a core exercise I switched to weighted dips but still do militaries as the BBB exercise. I can’t tell if this is helping my bench or not, but I do feel more swole in my tris, and that is always nice 8*)
some folks switch back and forth between squat and front squat.
So, how about this idea: BP and MP for the main exercises. Pull ups, upright rows, curls and behind the neck extensions for assistance. Keep up with the legs as described above to maintain mobility. Any thoughts? Can I use bent over rows as a main ex instead of legs?
Thanks, Matt[/quote]
That looks like a plan. You could definitely do the 5/3/1 progression with rows, and even pull-ups. Just account for your weight. [/quote]
Dude, thanks for the reply. I don’t understand what you mean by “account for your weight.”
I thought about what you said. I was going to do bw pull ups as an assistance, but like the idea of using pull ups as a main exercise by adding weight. That would give me two pushing and two pulling movements. Work out 4 days a week.
Monday BP
Tuesday Bent row
Friday MP
Saturday weighted chins. BW squats and some ab work with every workout. Assorted assistance to round it out. I like it. [/quote]
I just meant when you figure out how many weighted pull-ups you can do for your max, don’t forget to include your bodyweight. Meh, maybe it doesn’t matter.
ex
I weigh 235 and can do 8 reps with 70 additional pounds; 4-5 with 90. So my starting max would be 325, then do the % calculations. I probably didn’t explain that correctly and it probably doesn’t have to be done at all. Makes sense in my small little world
Did my first 5/3/1 workout yesterday. Hit squat, press, BBB press, BBB deads, and chins. Went super light on the assistance to start out and get used to that volume. What a breath of fresh air. Wanna stay on this shit forever. Had a great lifting day and when done, felt a lot better than when I started
[quote]METAL VIPER wrote:
Did my first 5/3/1 workout yesterday. Hit squat, press, BBB press, BBB deads, and chins. Went super light on the assistance to start out and get used to that volume. What a breath of fresh air. Wanna stay on this shit forever. Had a great lifting day and when done, felt a lot better than when I started[/quote]
Wait, you can walk after doing BBB deads?? Must not have used very much
[quote]METAL VIPER wrote:
Did my first 5/3/1 workout yesterday. Hit squat, press, BBB press, BBB deads, and chins. Went super light on the assistance to start out and get used to that volume. What a breath of fresh air. Wanna stay on this shit forever. Had a great lifting day and when done, felt a lot better than when I started[/quote]
Wait, you can walk after doing BBB deads?? Must not have used very much ;)[/quote]
Haha, admittedly, I started with only 135. I haven’t done a high rep deadlift set in a long time, not to mention 5 sets. I had no idea how it was going to go, but I’m going to work up to 50%. Everything still feels fresh for deadlift on Friday.
[quote]METAL VIPER wrote:
Did my first 5/3/1 workout yesterday. Hit squat, press, BBB press, BBB deads, and chins. Went super light on the assistance to start out and get used to that volume. What a breath of fresh air. Wanna stay on this shit forever. Had a great lifting day and when done, felt a lot better than when I started[/quote]
Wait, you can walk after doing BBB deads?? Must not have used very much ;)[/quote]
Haha, admittedly, I started with only 135. I haven’t done a high rep deadlift set in a long time, not to mention 5 sets. I had no idea how it was going to go, but I’m going to work up to 50%. Everything still feels fresh for deadlift on Friday. [/quote]
lol I love how 5x10x50% looks sooo light and easy on paper. Bring your wrist straps if you plan on using your hands for a couple days
[quote]METAL VIPER wrote:
Did my first 5/3/1 workout yesterday. Hit squat, press, BBB press, BBB deads, and chins. Went super light on the assistance to start out and get used to that volume. What a breath of fresh air. Wanna stay on this shit forever. Had a great lifting day and when done, felt a lot better than when I started[/quote]
Same here. Did squat but only hit my prescribed 5 reps on my main lift. Did some BBB with some light front squat but upped the weight a bit for the last two sets. Finished off with 5X10 GHR’s.
It’s an amazing feeling being in and out of the gym so quickly and actually really looking forward to your next day.
Just got back from a bench session. I didn’t really follow Jim’s advise here I’m afraid and I used 90% of a 1RM from a good few months ago. I somehow forgot that I haven’t done almost any benching in the last two months due to an injury so today’s weight felt a bit too heavy so again I only got my prescribed reps.
Still, a 5kg reduction(yeah, I’m weak) should set me where I want to be-ish. I’ll gauge off the next bench day. BBB with incline dumbbells as assistance work. I’ve never really targeted my upper chest that directly before so will probably be sore tomorrow but I’m still feeling good. Did sets of pull-ups between every bench set(incl. warm-ups). Finished up with some Kroc Rows with the end of a barbell. Trying to row a heavy weight with your hand around the part where the weights go on is tough and I’m already feeling it in my forearms.
Here’s to deadlift day on thursday!
Sorry, didn’t mean to trun this into an essay, I’m just really excited about this programme.
did my 2nd 5/3/1 bench press workout today. much better than last week. 180x3 210x3 235x3 215x5 225x3. i lowered the weight on the 4th set to get some reps and added a 5th set. next week will be even better.
[quote]METAL VIPER wrote:
Did my first 5/3/1 workout yesterday. Hit squat, press, BBB press, BBB deads, and chins. Went super light on the assistance to start out and get used to that volume. What a breath of fresh air. Wanna stay on this shit forever. Had a great lifting day and when done, felt a lot better than when I started[/quote]
Either I’m reading it wrong or you typed it wrong. You’re not supposed to do all for exercises in one workout. Day 1 = Squat, Day 2 = Press, Day 3 = Bench, Day 4= DL
Which exercise did you actually use 5/3/1? The assistance should be higher reps (bodybuilding style), i.e., 10 reps or whatever you like but not similar or heavy.
